| Vegan
Outreach occasionally hears from
members who suggest we branch out
to other countries. For example,
several people recently pointed
out that the number of (land) animals
slaughtered for food in China is
now comparable to the numbers in
the U.S., and that demand for meat
there is growing. Some have recommended
that Vegan Outreach go to China,
in order to get the most 'bang for
the buck.'
When determining how and where
to spend our extremely limited time
and resources, we must return to
our underlying principle: Vegan
Outreach exists to reduce as much
suffering as possible. To this end,
we promote dietary change as discussed
in "A
Meaningful Life." We focus our
efforts in North America for the
following reasons:
- In the U.S., nearly all "food"
animals are factory-farmed.
- Per-capita animal consumption
is much higher in the U.S. Although
the number of animals slaughtered
in China rivals that of the U.S.,
since there are over four times
as many people in China, per-capita
animal consumption is lower in
China. (For details, see http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdHome.aspx
and http://faostat.fao.org/).
Vegan Outreach's work is based
on individual outreach, and every
new vegetarian in the U.S. saves
more animals.
- The marginal cost per new vegetarian
(and thus per animal saved) is
smallest here – Vegan Outreach
doesn't have to research, develop,
or design a new booklet, and we're
able to have our per-piece printing
cost at a minimum, given our current
numbers. We don't have to build
a distribution system, find new
employees and volunteers, set
up a new group, etc. -- our physical
location is important in terms
of booklet research, development,
printing, shipping, etc. The marginal
cost is important as long as Vegan
Outreach hasn't saturated North
America (which is very far from
the case).
- Vegetarian and vegan diets are
relatively common in the U.S.,
relatively easy, and often "cool"
among certain groups.
- This is our culture and we can
speak to it, get feedback from
it, and refine our message accordingly
(e.g., what influences people,
what people's concerns are, what
people need, etc.). It is also
the language we speak. None of
us have any experience in China,
speak any of the languages (Mandarin,
Cantonese, etc.), or even read
any Chinese.
- We can honestly speak to the
agricultural situation here. Even
in other English-speaking countries
(e.g. Great Britain, South Africa,
Australia), our booklets are only
of limited use. Many people are
quick to disregard information
about animal cruelty if it does
not describe the situation in
their country. Also, few, if any,
of the vegan products we offer
as examples are available in other
countries. (We have only one
booklet with one page specific
to Canada, and that is in English
as well.)
- For better or worse, animal
rights / ethical veganism is a
cause more-or-less focused on
the affluent. Despite the disparities
in overall population, there are
probably many more people in the
U.S. in a financial situation
to be able to make ethical dietary
choices.
- In many ways, the U.S. sets
the example for the world, so
every new vegetarian here, in
addition to saving more animals
directly, also has the most global
influence.
- Related to #8, as discussed
here,
animal liberation will come about
when people can eat a vegan diet
very similar to today's standard
diet. The US (and Great Britain
and several other European countries)
will be the lead in developing
cruelty-free meats (vegetarian
and in meatro). Therefore,
creating demand in the US is the
key to our longterm goals.
In addition to the above, there
are specific issues regarding the
efficiency of activism in China
utilizing the Vegan Outreach approach.
Vegan Outreach's main mechanism
for change is most people's inherent
rejection of cruelty to animals.
Since factory farms and industrial
slaughterhouses are hidden in the
U.S., many people are shocked when
they find out the reality -- shocked
enough to make a change to their
diet. For people who are indifferent
to the suffering of animals, however,
we don't try to persuade them of
"animal rights" or try to convince
them of the consistency of a utilitarian
philosophy. Rather, we focus on
reaching more people for whom discovering
the hidden realities of modern agribusiness
will be motivation enough.
In China, however, cruelty to animals
is often neither hidden nor shocking
for many people. Live markets expose
people to the realities of the meat
they eat; thus, the Vegan Outreach
approach would not be as effective.
Very important, too, are differences
in the culture, and the political
situation in China. Issues include
a lack of a free speech tradition,
crackdown on dissent (especially
in preparation for the Olympics),
opinions about the U.S., etc. It
would be naive, at best, to think
that the Vegan Outreach model could
effectively translate directly to
China.
This is not to say that there shouldn't
be any advocacy in China related
to food animals. Since factory farming
isn't fully established in China,
important efforts could be made
at the structural level -- such
as those pursued by institutions
such as HSUS (for instance: http://tinyurl.com/yotnsm).
Structural reforms are not something
Vegan Outreach pursues; we don't
even have a million dollar budget
(Vegan Outreach's budget is less
than one-half of one percent of
HSUS's budget, with assets one-tenth
of one percent of HSUS's).
It is possible, of course, that
once Vegan Outreach is bigger, closer
to being able to reach all the "low-hanging
fruit" in North America, and with
spare staffing capabilities, it
would be worth revisiting the idea
of the Vegan Outreach model in other
countries. However, at this time,
Vegan Outreach's scant resources
must continue to go into what we
have found to be most effective
at reducing suffering. We haven't
come close to reaching even half
of all college students. Every year,
millions of students graduate from
college without ever having been
shown the realties of factory farms
and the compassionate vegetarian
alternative. Many of these millions
are lost forever to our efforts
towards creating a new world.
Our goal is to have, as soon as
possible, people leafleting in every
part of North America, both on college
campuses and at events. We want
to make sure that no one graduates
from college without being offered
a Vegan Outreach booklet. We know
Vegan Outreach's work in North America
is creating new vegetarians and
vegans every day -- literally changing
the society we live in -- and the
example our culture sets. That's
with a budget much smaller than
the animals need. There is still
so much to do right here in the
US. If VO could afford to reach
50% of all college students in the
U.S. alone, we would profoundly
impact the eating habits of the
rest of the world. We are obligated
to continue to work towards this,
for the animals' sake.
Since we currently have so much
work to do in North America, we
realize that to reduce as much suffering
as possible, Vegan Outreach must
continue to focus on what has the
greatest impact -- what we know
and do best. We deeply appreciate
everyone's support of and belief
in Vegan Outreach's work.
-Matt Ball, Jon Camp, Anne
Green, & Jack Norris
Vegan Outreach
P.O. Box 30865
Tucson, AZ 85751-0865
VO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization; all donations
are tax-deductible. |
